Wellington, April 25 NZPA The gap is closing between the two main political parties, but National still has a commanding lead over Labour.

According to a 3 News TNS poll issued tonight National is down 4.2 percent to 52.1 percent, while Labour is up 4.2 percent to 33.8 percent.

The Greens are the only other party over 5 percent, with a strong result up to 8.2 percent, while the Maori Party is at 1.9 percent, with Act at 1.6 percent, NZ First at 1.5 percent and United Future still barely registering.

Prime Minister John Key was down slightly to 49 percent in the preferred prime minister rankings, while Labour leader Phil Goff slipped from 8.2 percent to 7.5 percent.